Psalm27:51
Jer 3:6-18
Romans 1:18, 3:9
John5:1-18 (NRSV)
Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. In these lay many ill, blind, lame, and paralyzed people. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” The ill man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am making my way someone else steps down ahead of me.” Jesus said to him, “Stand up, take your mat and walk.” At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.
Devotion
Divided we stand and have for centuries. Today’s biblical passages tell us just how deeply the divide has been from Old Testament times through New Testament. Our human history is not a pretty picture. We have painted our own Guernica to rival Picasso.
Remember the war time song of every country singing they will win because “God is on our side.” How unchristian is that song’s theology? How wise to remember that it is believed by the enemy.
In the movie Conclave, a cardinal says humanity’s worst failing is certainty. Even without all the facts we clench our teeth and say with fist lifted “my way or the highway.”
“No, approach life,” says another voice, “with a sense of openness and unknowing, then listen.”
First God’s chosen people were certain that God loves only those who worship him and follow his way. Jesus put an end to that idea and Paul reminds believers that God loves you even if you are not a Jew, even if you rebel and follow other gods. God would gather you under his wings. God so loves the world and waits for us to acknowledge that love.
Finally in the scripture for today there is rebuke of Israel prostituting itself in the world, not following God’s wish for it. They are becoming bullies and give top prizes to those who bully. Stop, says the Lord our God, reconcile, and “I will bring to you rulers who rule like good shepherds with intelligence and wisdom.”
Then the New Testament story is shared of the lame man who has been coming to the healing pool at the gates of the city for 38 years. Jesus sees him in the crowd of hopeful thousands on this feast day of healing and calls to him. The man says he cannot get to the pool and no one has come forth to help him travel that distance. Jesus does not ask where he lives, his name, whether he has a faith, if he’s married, if he’s committed a crime. Jesus asks of him as he does of us:
Do you want to be healed?
When the yes surfaces from the man’s heart and voice Jesus commands him, “Get up and walk.”And he does.
These passages were deeply affecting to me and I urge you to read them for yourself. There may be other messages just meant for you in those words of scripture. Of that I am certain.
Prayer
Dear God, our infirmities are many. We judge, we assume, we isolate with only those just like us. Open our hearts and minds to your message of love and may our lives reflect your will. May we be kind, compassionate, and avid listeners to your will for us. When you ask, “Do you want to be healed?” may we respond with honest affirmation.
Sarah Larson